Laapataa Ladies is out of the race for the 97th Academy Awards after the film was not shortlisted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on Tuesday, 17 December. In September 2024, Director Kiran Rao's Laapataa Ladies was selected by the Film Federation of India as India's official entry for the Best Foreign Film Category at the 97th Academy Awards.
Laapataa Ladies, produced by Aamir Khan, dealt with the story of two young newlywed brides who accidentally swap places during a train ride to their husbands' homes. The film starred Pratibha Ranta, Sparsh Srivastava and Nitanshi Goel. It was released in India on 1 March 2024 and became available for streaming on Netflix in April.
In its citation, the Film Federation of India said, "Indian women are a strange mixture of submission and dominance. Well-defined, powerful characters in one world, Laapataa Ladies (Hindi) captures this diversity perfectly, though in a semi-idyllic world and in a tongue-in-cheek way. It shows you that women can happily desire to be homemakers as well as rebel and be entrepreneurially inclined. A story that can simultaneously be seen as one that needs change, and one that can bring about change. Laapataa Ladies (Hindi) is a film that can engage, entertain and make sense not just to women in India but universally as well."
Eighty-four other countries had filed their official nominations for consideration. The Academy said that of the 85 countries that filed their nominations, Kneecap (Ireland), I'm Still Here (Brazil), How to Make Millions before Grandma Dies (Thailand), Universal Language (Canada), Armand (Norway), Touch (Iceland), The Girl with the Needle (Denmark), Dahomey (Senegal), The Seed of the Sacred Fig (Germany), Waves (Czech Republic), Flow (Latvia), From Ground Zero (Palestine), Santosh (UK) and Vermiglio (Italy) have made it to the top 15.
While Laapataa Ladies exits from the run for Oscars this year, Guneet Monga's film Anuja, nominated for the Best Live-Action Short Film category, has been shortlisted for the next round. Anuja revolves around the lives of children who work in the garment industry in India.
It may be noted that Guneet Monga's The Elephant Whisperers had won an Oscar in 2023 in the Best Documentary Short category.